British-Swedish pharmaceutical multinational AstraZeneca announced the expansion of its strategic partnership with Shanghai municipal government to upgrade its Shanghai research and development platform to a global R&D center during the ongoing second China International Import Expo (CIIE).

"The government has invested a lot in terms of building health care institutions and infrastructure, especially in grassroots institutions. We see tremendous opportunities, both in terms of the underlying disease burden and commitment of the government to improving health care. " Michael M. Lai, General Manager of AstraZeneca, said at the CIIE.

It also announced it will establish an artificial intelligence innovation center based in the city's Jing'an district to focus on areas such as new drug development, AI-powered healthcare and big-data-integrated services to ultimately further promote the development of local healthcare innovation.